May you find comfort, encouragement, guidance, hope, inspiration, love, and peace – https://helpfulinspirationalblog.wordpress.com/. May you also find answers to your question(s) through the Scriptures that address every situation you face, and help with your problems. Deb ♥

Dear Lord, open our hearts and our minds to the power of Your Word, which as we read, we may know, understand, and obey Your Word for us today. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. (Author unknown)

Today’s scripture reading:

Paul compares the body of Christ to a human body. Each part has a specific function that is necessary to the body as a whole. The parts are different for a purpose, and in their differences they must work together. Christians must avoid two common errors: (1) being proud of their abilities, or (2) thinking they have nothing to give to the body of believers. Instead of comparing ourselves to one another, we should use our different gifts, together, to spread the Good News of salvation. (NLT)

1 Corinthians 12:12-25 – 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 – The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ’s body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.

Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? Suppose the whole body were an eye—then how would you hear? Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything?

But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it. What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen, while other parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other equally. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

There are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. –1 Corinthians 12:20-22 (NIV)

Keith Osmun (Ohio) titled his story “A SMALL PART?” Here is a portion of Keith’s story:

“I work on an assembly line making car mirrors. . . . I sometimes get frustrated at how insignificant my role seems. But then I remind myself that if I don’t do my job right and time my work well with the people on either side of me, then the whole process can fail. I also have to acknowledge that mirrors serve an important purpose for drivers.

“In our Christian service, we may also devalue our role. But, for example, helping people feel welcome in church can influence them for God in ways we may never fully understand. God can express love and care in myriad ways, but we are God’s hands and feet in the world. One of the privileges of being members of the body of Christ is ministering to one another and to those outside the church. Though we may not see the end results of our small tasks, God sees how our small part in the body of Christ helps further the gospel in the lives of those around us and in the world.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY – God can help me use every skill I have to serve others.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for allowing us to be part of such a diverse body and empowering us to serve. Amen.